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Music Review

10 January 2009 00:53 BST

Basia Bulat: Oh My Darling

Rough Trade Records, out May 21st

In a nutshell…

Floaty. Haunting. Beautiful.

What's it all about?

Every few years an artist pitches up inspired by folk music. This time around it's Canada's Basia Bulat with a stunning debut album, presenting 12 tender and heartfelt songs.

Who's it by

Bulat hails from Ontario and provides the ethereal edge to the emerging wave of music stemming from the land of the maple leaf. Produced by Howard Bilerman, the man behind Arcade Fire, Bulat and her band effortlessly fuse folk and chamber music.

Having gained a following in her native Canada, Bulat is bringing her distinctive sound to our shores this month.

As an example…

"We swam in the rivers, sang with the birds" - I was a Daughter

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

Not this time out but a few more albums, add the requisite fan-base and favourable media attention and who knows…

What the others say

"Oh, My Darling is an enchanting collection of songs featuring Bulat's breathy vibrato set like a jewel into organic arrangements of guitar, mandolin, piano and strings" - Spidered News

"The songs are short and bittersweet – like Joanna Newsom without the complex chords and curlicues" - Guardian Unlimited

So is it any good?

Initially, Bulat and her backing band strike you as a Sixpence None The Richer for the Noughties but as the album gets into its stride around Snakes And Ladders and the title track you realise you're in the same musical territory as Tori Amos and the great Joan Armatrading – lush yet strident vocals, accompanied by exquisite piano and insistent guitars and strings.

At the time of writing Canadian Bulat has yet to secure the album's release date in her homeland, a situation that seems appalling as this offering is nu-folk at its best.

Bulat's gorgeous, emotive vocals start well on opener Before I Knew before hitting the heights on melancholic Little One and the world weary Birds of Paradise.

There are a couple of duff tracks, particularly the grating A Secret, but in light of the overall high quality you can forgive Bulat fumbling the ball once or twice.

8 /10

Lee Davis

"I've had this album for nearly two weeks now and I can't stop playing it! Her voice is almost refreshing and the strings etc are lifting. "We swam in the river, sang out with the birds," sounds like everyone does as kids. I find it very enjoyable and look forward to more." - Gordon Booth